May 31, 2016

My husband and I have never been beet eaters until Lily was born and I was going down the list of homemade baby food to make for her. I also didn’t cook much until she came along. But now, we love beets; this year we grew them in our garden. My firefighter pulled out the beets that actually took on Wednesday, May 1st from our garden. I cleaned them and prepped them and headed to Pinterest to see what I could make with them. I’ve made beet pesto pizza, beet muffins, beet apple sauce, beet hash, and beet bread that I will share with you today. I decided to make beet bread when I realized I still had pureed beets in the refrigerator and I didn’t want them going bad. Well, I doubt they would have gone bad. Lily loves eating beets even if nothing else is mixed in with them. See…

She asks for beets by name.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to save the beets for a beet vegan burger recipe, which I still haven’t tired, or the beet bread. I decided on the beet bread since I had my firefighter purchase cream cheese just in case I decided to make the bread. Late Saturday night on May 21st, I pulled up the Beet Bread With Cream Cheese And Dill Swirl recipe by 10thKitchen.com I had pinned on my Pinterest board and gave it a go.

The only changes I made to the recipe was the fresh copped dill. I didn’t have any. I used dried instead, which we dehydrated last year from our garden. I look up on the “google machine” as my firefighter calls it, to see how you convert fresh dill to dry dill in recipes. I used one teaspoon of dried dill for one tablespoon of fresh dill. Danguole, the author of the beet bread recipe, suggested to add more cream cheese if desired. I went against it, trying to be good and not add any more than what the recipe originally suggested. Maybe, next time, I won’t be as good though.

The beet bread was delicious, especially with the swirl of warm cream cheese inside. I split the bread in half, putting half in the refrigerator and half in the freezer. I’ve had a slice of beet bread on the side with my daily sautéed breakfast veggies and two over-easy eggs. You can't beat the extra veggies! I can't wait to try it along side with some warm soup.Next, I hope to try a beet vegan burger recipe. I also plan to share the recipes I used for my beet pesto pizza, muffins, and apple sauce soon. Most of these recipes I found on Pinterest or what I like to call Pinterest Cooking Academy. I honestly wouldn’t know what I would do without Pinterest, especially when it comes to cooking for my family.

May 27, 2016

I’m obsessed with these stunning Frida Kahlo Blythe dolls. I think what makes them special is that they are one of a kind and hand manipulated by a talented artist. You can’t purchase them in a store, making them a rare find. Here are some of my favorite:

I love how these Blythe dolls are all different, but they are all Frida depicted in various ways. They remind me of Frida Kahlo's self portraits. The same women with different expressions and in different attire.

The top ones are my favorite. Which ones are yours?

I would love to start a small collection of handmade Frida Kahlo dolls; handcrafted dolls are the best.

May 20, 2016

Hey (I currently say “Hey” instead of “Hi”) everyone! It’s me Lily! This is my first post on my mama’s booger, I mean blog on Creativity Lizette. Guess what? I’m creative too! I saw how much fun my Mama was having with Friday Frida Fav and I thought to myself, “No fair! I want to join in the Frida fun too!” Since I’m little, I asked my Mama for help with a Frida art project I had in mind. Today, my mama and I bring you this awesome Frida Kahlo handprint portrait tutorial or what I like to call Do It With Mama or Mommy (I call my mom, Mama) tutorial.

This is almost like finger painting (I love painting) only that your parent has some but not all control were the prints are going. This DIWM tutorial is not a one day project. Come on, I’m a toddler; I have a shot attention span and get easily distracted. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah! I tell my mama, “No more!” When I am done with what I am doing and want to move onto something new, like reading a book. It took my mama and I a couple of days to complete this Frida handprint portrait. Remember, time and patience is needed when working with a toddler. I should know, I’m a toddler! Without further ado, here’s my Mama. She’s going to take over while I go have a snack. “Mama, chip?”

This mother and daughter project was inspired by 1939’s French Vogue magazine cover of Frida Kahlo, taken by photographer Nickolas Muray.

Paso (Means Step) 1: For Frida’s face, I painted Lily’s palm white, not including the fingers, and pressed it onto the green paper. Make sure you leave enough space underneath for the sacred heart.

Paso 2: For Frida’s hair, I painted Lily’s left thumb brown and pressed it horizontally on the top, left part of Frida’s head. Then I did the same with her right thumb and pressed it on the opposite side of Frida’s head.

Paso 3: For the inside of the flowers, I painted the the tip of Lily’s pinky yellow and pressed it above Frida’s head. We did this four times leaving small gaps in between for the flower pedals. Let dry before you continue onto the next step.

Paso 4: For the flower pedals, I painted the tip of Lily’s middle finger pink and pressed it around the yellow finger print. Repeat until you make a flower pattern then move onto the next yellow circle. There is no need to wait for the flower pedals to dry since they are all the same color, unless you want the flowers to be different colors.

Paso 5: For Frida’s signature unibrows, I actually painted the outter side of Lily’s left pinky finger black and pressed it horizontally on the left side of Frida’s head. I repeated the same step with her right finger and connected it to the left unibrow.

Paso 6: For Frida’s cheeks, I painted the tip of Lily’s left thumb pink and pressed it on the left side of were Frida’s cheek should be. I did the same thing with her right thumb on the opposite side were the first cheek got printed.

Paso 7: For Frida’s earrings, I painted the tip of Lily’s ring finger and pressed on the outter left middle part of Frida’s head. Repeat the same “paso” with the right finger on the opposite side.

Paso 8: You want to print the sacred heart below Frida’s head. I painted Lily’s index finger red and pressed it slightly side ways towards the left. Then I painted the same finger and overlapped it on the bottom of the last print pressing it slightly towards the right, creating the shape of a heart. Let dry.

Paso 9: For the flame above the sacred heart, I painted the tip of Lily’s picky finger orange and pressed it on the top middle part of the heart. Let dry.

Paso 10: I painted the tip of Lily’s ring finger yellow and pressed it on the left side of the orange flame print and then I painted the same finger again and pressed it on the right side of the orange flame print.

Paso 11: For the ribbon over the sacred heart, I painted Lily’s picky finger white and pressed it across the heart. I wiped her finger off and painted the tip of her picky finger white and pressed it on the front but slightly over the front of the ribbon. Then, I painted the tip of the finger again and pressed it on the opposite just like the last print.

Paso 12: This is my favorite “paso” because it makes everything come together. Grab your black pen and outline the pedals making them look like flowers, create earrings for Frida, give Frida eyes, a nose, and a smile with lips, outline your sacred heart, draw flames, outline your ribbon, and write Frida’s name in the ribbon. Lily moved her hand a lot during this mommy and daughter collaboration; nonetheless, the quality time, memories, and finished project was well worth it. This is now framed and displayed on our fireplace.

Hey guys, I’m back! It's Lily! I hope you enjoyed this Do It With Mama tutorial that my mama and I put together for you. If you decide to make your own Frida Kahlo handprint portrait like mine, please share it with us on Instagram using the hashtag #fridahandprintportrait or email us a picture to creativitylizette@yahoo.com Mama says sharing is good.

May 16, 2016

There is six more days left until people can sign up for Viva La Frida Craft Swap. To add some excitement as sign up days are coming to a close and in hopes of motivating people to sign up that are still unsure, we decided to spice things up with a Frida Kahlo giveaway.

Have you spotted Mexico's iconic female painter, Frida Kahlo, in your city? Capture her with your phone (you can be included in the picture too) and share your siting on Instagram using the hashtag #findingfrida. Let Bee Creative Swaps know where you found her. For example, "I spotted Frida in Austin!", "Frida's visiting Hollywood!”, or "I'm dining with Frida!"

For posting your sitings of Frida, you will be automatically entered into a random drawing to win a homemade Frida Kahlo inspired zippered pouch with Frida goodies inside. This prize is brought to you by Emily, from The Morose Bee, as she went searching for Frida Kahlo in Austin, Texas.

Emily and I will post our favorite findings of Frida on our individual blogs on Friday for Friday Frida Favs. Multiple entries are welcome. Winner will be annouced Monday, June 1st, 2016. Remember to add the hashtag #findingfrida. We look forward to seeing Frida Kahlo in your town!

May 13, 2016

“Counting with - Contando con Frida” by Patty Rodriguez and Ariana Stein is the perfect first Frida Kahlo themed book for any child. It's a board book, making it durable without worrying about your child tearing the pages out. It's illustrations are simple and well designed without overwhelming your little reader. Better yet, your child is learning two languages, words and numbers, while unknowingly learning about Frida Kahlo. This book embodies what we love in our household, Frida, reading, and teaching Lily Spanish.

“Counting with - Contando con Frida” is actually one of my favorite Frida Kahlo themed books. If I didn’t have Lily I would have probably purchased it for myself. What I love about this book is the objects used to represent the numbers are related to Frida’s life. For example, for the number 5, there is five framed portraits of Frida which are based off of her paintings. Frida is well known for painting self-portraits of herself. Frida’s paintings “Self-Portrait with Loose Hair”, “The Two Fridas”, “Frieda and Diego Rivera”, “Self-Portrait as a Tehuana”, and “The Wounded Deer” inspired the ones illustrated to help represent the number five.

“Counting with - Contando con Frida” is published by Lil’ Libros (which means little books in Spanish), a company which publishes other amazing bilingual books with Mexican themes and educational concepts. Other great titles they sell are “La Llorona” which teaches counting down numbers, “Loteria” teaches first words based on the Mexican game Loteria, “Lucha Libre” (Mexican wrestling) teaches anatomy, “Zapata” teaches colors based on Emiliano Zapata’s life, and “Guadalupe” teaches more first words based on the Virgin Mary’s life. Lil’ Libros is currently in the works to release two more books, “Cuauhtemoc” and “Un Elefante!” We are looking forward to adding them to our Lil' Libros bilingual book collection.

We were introduced to Lil’ Libros books last year, when Lily received “Counting with - Contando con Frida” and “Loteria” from my friend Maria. We have been hooked to Lil’ Libros books since then. I got Lily “Guadalupe” for her Easter basket this year and purchased other titles for my nephews for Christmas. You can purchase Lil’ Libros books and prints on their website, here and on Etsy, here. You can follow them on Instagram, here. They usually have sales during the holidays and you can get their discount code if you follow them on Instagram. I have seen “Counting with - Contando con Frida” books in Target stores, but not on Target online.

I’ve always loved reading. I was in a bookclub called, “The Bookies” for a few years. I started reading to Lily from day one and I’ve seen how rewarding it is for both of us. She has books everywhere. She has a basket with books in our bedroom and in the living room and a bookshelf in her bedroom. Lily will choose a book over watching cartoons anytime. She knows how to say book in English and Spanish. “Counting with - Contando con Frida” book has helped her learn how to count to two.

Sign ups are still open for Viva La Frida Craft Swap. If you haven’t signed up, there is still time. If you get paired up with someone with a little one, Lily and I highly recommend buying “Counting with - Contando con Frida” for them. It will be a gift both child and parent will enjoy, promise! Also, don't forget to swing on by The Morose Bee blog to see what Emily as posted for Friday Frida Favs.

May 6, 2016

Sign ups for Viva La Frida Craft Swaps has been open for a few days and I know our participants are probably searching for Frida Kahlo inspiration, D.I.Y.s, and goods. To help them out, Emily, from The Morose Bee, and I have decided to dedicate our blogs to Frida on Fridays with Friday Frida Favs.

We have given our swap participants the option to also purchase Frida inspired items as well as making Frida crafts because we know sometimes life happens and plans to make things fall through. We are encouraging our swappers to support independent local businesses as they shop for Frida items. One of the biggest on-line shops to find lots of Frida crafted goods and support artists is Etsy.

Spice up any boring name tag with this name badge holder. A guaranteed conversation starter for sure! I wish I would have had this when I was an assistant manager at the theater. The seller makes these to order and you can even choose the color flowers you want.Frida Kahlo badge reel by TerraMaya; Cost: $10

May 1, 2016

This swap, brought to you by Bee Creative Swaps, honors the great Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. We are celebrating her life by creating and/or purchasing art and goods inspired by her.

Is swap is perfect for everyone, even if you know nothing about Frida Kahlo. This is a great opportunity to learn about her. You have no time? No problem. You can buy Frida themed art work and goods instead.

Emily from The Morose Bee and I will be posting "Friday Frida Favs" on our own blog to help you out with some ideas and see how much Frida has inspired others. Can't wait? Click here to see Frida posts I have posted on my blog.

3. Create, gather, paint, construct shop for a Frida Kahlo themed gift, personalized for your swap partner based on their likes. Amount $25 - $30, not including shipping. We encourage shoppers to support independent local business. For example, sellers on Etsy.

4. Swap gifts in the mail no later than July 1st, that way we would all receive a gift to open on Frida's birthday week. Tracking is highly recommended.